Henry, Edu, Altidore among those set for Steve Nash Showdown in New York City

A combination of international soccer, U.S. Soccer, MLS and NBA stars will be out in New York City tonight to take part in Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash’s annual charity game.

The Steve Nash Showdown at Sarah D. Roosevelt Park in New York City (at the corner of Chrystie St. and Stanton St.) is an event in which stars come together to raise money for Nash’s charity, which is geared toward helping underserved and poverty-stricken children. Bleacher seats and standing room spots are still open for the night’s game, which is slated for 6:30 p.m.

Among the dignitaries expected to take part in the festivities are U.S. internationals Maurice Edu, Stuart Holden (who won’t be playing), Robbie Rogers and Jozy Altidore, Claudio Reyna, Thierry Henry, Jimmy Conrad, Giuseppe Rossi, Salomon Kalou, Patrick Vieira and the NBA’s Grant Hill.

Nash, a part owner of the Vancouver Whitecaps, has always had a strong connection to soccer, playing the sport as a youth. His brother, Martin, is a former standout for the Whitecaps and a Canadian national team player.

MLS could do worse than look down the foreign player roster list for this game because it demonstrates foreign player interest in playing soccer here. I remember before Henry came here he played in a similar event a few years back. I think going after players who have a hankering to play soccer on American soil is bound to be more fruitful an endeavor (and productive of more loyal players) than waving bills around and seeing who will sign.

True, but the money still needs to be better than it is to get them here, and in a salary-capped league (minus DPs), that takes away money from other players. Not many of the players we want are going to take a discount just to play here.